PROVIDENCE – Exports from the Ocean State rose 9.1 percent in November to $195.9 million on a month-to-month, seasonally adjusted basis after rising 1.4 percent in October, according to an international trade statistics report from e-forecasting.com.

Overseas shipments from Rhode Island manufacturers, which accounted for 56 percent of the month’s exports, increased 0.4 percent from October to November to $109.4 million, seasonally adjusted.

Exports of non-manufactured goods totaled $86.5 million in November, a 22.5 percent increase over the $70.6 million shipped in October. Non-manufactured goods include agricultural goods, mining products and re-exports, which are foreign goods that entered the state as imports and are exported in the same condition.

Year over year, Rhode Island’s exporting companies undersold their November 2011 performance by $4.9 million, or 2.4 percent, according to the report. This loss was led by Rhode Island’s manufacturing plants, which undersold their November 2011 figures by $17.8 million.

Nationally, exports rose 1.3 in November to $129.3 billion, adjusted for seasonal variation. The report said the national growth was fueled by increases in capital goods, automotive vehicles, parts and engines, industrial supplies and materials and consumer goods.

“The latest export trends are important for the state’s job market and overall economic development as the industrial mix of foreign sales implies that nearly one in every five factory jobs is tied to exports of manufactures,” said e-forecating.com Chief Economist Evangelos Otto Simos in the report.

In terms of export growth, Rhode Island ranked 26th among the 50 states for the first 11 months of 2012. For 2012, up until the end of November, Rhode Island exports increased 3.4 percent versus the first 11 months of 2011. Comparatively, national exports increased 4.6 percent during the same period.

Rhode Island’s 2013 export outlook is heavily affected by growth predicted by the World Bank in emerging countries such as China and India.

“The global forecast implies that Rhode Island’s exporting companies selling their products to emerging countries will do better in 2013 than last year with good prospects for growing exports over the next two years,” said Simos. “However, exports to the industrial countries, particularly in Europe, are expected to stagnate during 2013 to 15.”

Comments

this is positive news for manufacuring jobs. But I hope we are capturing some of the transportation jobs involved with the increased overseas trade. T.F. Green ranks 105 in total tonnage and I am sure most of our overseas trade goes thru Boston.

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